


Language of Kindness

by SevenCandlesticks



Category: B.A.P, TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Christmas, Fluff, Gen, Winter, warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 01:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16985604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevenCandlesticks/pseuds/SevenCandlesticks
Summary: Mina's visiting South Korea to see a friend for Christmas--whom unfortunately had to cancel last minute due to an urgent matter arising. It doesn't help Mina is not very proficient in speaking Korean yet, but perhaps that doesn't matter.





	Language of Kindness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Iamonly17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamonly17/gifts).



Snow fell gently from the sky, blanketing the world in white. The streets were busy with people trying to keep warm as the holidays rolled around. Myoui Mina was visiting South Korea to meet with a friend… or at least, that was the original plan. Something came up, so her friend had to be with her family. And Mina’s round trip ticket would not take her on a flight back to Japan until _after_ Christmas.

Mina was alone, standing stoically in the frost of winter.

A sigh escaped her lips, the warmth of her breath visible for a moment before dissolving. If she knew it’d be snowing, she would have prepared a warmer outfit. A sweater jacket isn’t exactly ideal against the slowly drifting snowflakes.

Longingly, Mina stared outside a store window at a mannequin wearing the perfect ensemble for this type of weather; a beanie made of red and white yarn, a long, padded beige jacket fit for rain and snow, a pair of matching mittens, and soft textured boots. Unfortunately, money for the plane ride and the hotel room has nearly bled her dry, and her remaining funds would need to go toward things like a trip to the grocery store so she wouldn’t starve the next few days.

Pulling her hand from her pocket, it was clutched to her phone. Quickly she scrolled through her most recent texts to find a recent notification from her friend.

{ I’m really sorry, Mina-chan. I promise to repay your travel fare next month. I feel so bad you came all this way for it to be a waste. }

“It can’t be helped.” Mina said solemnly to herself. Quickly, she began composing a response—

{ It’s OK. You don’t have to repay me. This isn’t your fault. }

_Message sent._

“It still would have been nice to see you, Momo-rin.” she said softly to herself.

Mina lifted her head to bask at the warm outfit in the store window one last time. It was getting late and she probably should quickly grab a quick meal at the convenient store before heading back to her hotel room.

Standing in place longer than anticipated, her head tilted slightly to the side as she imagined herself in it. Her imagination was vivid enough that she almost felt warmer just picturing it. A small smile pursed her lips.

Her admiration drew the attention of a young man named Moon Jongup whom was quietly walking down the sidewalk, only to stop and gaze at Mina happily staring at something she couldn’t currently afford. It was obvious she longed for the warmth it brought, considering her current attire made obvious her lack of preparation for the snow.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Hm?” Mina turned, wide eyed to see the awkward young man standing before her.

“You look very cold. Are you alright?”

 _“E-Etto…”_ Mina bit her lip, feeling a bit embarrassed. _“Kankokugo wo sukoshi hanashimasu.”_

She cringed at herself, realizing she should’ve said that in Korean, not Japanese! How do you say ‘I speak very little Korean’ in Korean again?

“Ohh… _Nihonjin desu ka?”_ he asked.

Her eyes lit up when he spoke Japanese to her. _“Hai, Nihonjin desu yo! Wakarimasu ka?”_

“Nn…” he awkwardly shook his head with a bit of an awkward smile. _“Sukoshi hanashimasu mo.”_

‘I speak very little too,’ he said. At that moment, Mina’s heart sank. Why couldn’t Momo be here?

Jongup was feeling very bad for this lonely Japanese tourist. She seemed a little lost. To try and make her feel better, he quickly asked, _“Samui?”_

He’s pretty sure that meant cold. He’s heard Himchan and Youngjae say it a number of times when they’ve visited Japan. If only he was as proficient as they were right now.

Mina, understanding the word, simply nodded. _“Ee, totemo.”_

He’s pretty sure she said ‘very’.

Nodding, he suddenly told her, _“chotto matte kudasai”,_ and quickly ran into the shop. Mina stood there, dumbfounded, watching as the young man whose name she didn’t even know quickly bolted inside.

Her body turned to gaze at the pretty warm outfit in the window. A store clerk went up to the mannequin and began stripping it bare. Her cheeks puffed up in a small pout, “Guess someone bought it.”

Eyes remaining glued to the window with a disappointed expression, she felt a pair of arms come from behind her--wrapping her up in a thick jacket. Startled, she turned around to see the young man had returned, having wrapped her up with the very jacket she’s been staring at.

“Here,” he put the hat over her head, slipped on the mittens, even wrapped a scarf around her neck that wasn’t originally apart of the ensemble.

“These may not fit, but….” he crouched down before her, holding up the set of boots it came with.

Mina could understand from the gesture he wanted her to try them on. So, she kicked off one shoe and slipped her foot into the first boot. They were actually a slightly bigger cut, but that’s OK with boots. It was still snug enough not to slip off or affect her walking.

 _“Itai ka?”_ Jongup asked in concern, standing up.

Mina burst with laughter at his broken Japanese. She understood what he meant to say, but it was not grammatically correct. “That’s not how you say it.”

Momo said that to her a lot when she tried teaching her Korean.

“Oh, aheh, sorry.” Is all he said in response. He just knew ‘itai’ meant ‘hurt’, and stuck the question particle at the end of it. He could only imagine how funny that sounded to her.

 _“Daijoubu. Arigatou gozaimasu.”_ she bowed. _“Ima, atatakai desu.”_

She felt warm now. He understood that. It was obvious she was using as simple of Japanese phrases as possible so he wouldn’t be too lost.

Mina smiled at Jongup’s obvious awkwardness. He seemed so sweet; she would never imagine a stranger being so kind to a random foreigner. It really uplifted her spirits tonight.

 _“Namae wa?”_ she asked.

What did that mean again? Oh, name. “Moon Jongup.”

“Nice to meet you, Moon-san. My name is Myoui Mina.”

Introductions were something Momo was sure to ingrain in Mina’s head.

“Nice to meet you, Mina. You can just call me Jongup.”

She smiled brightly. _“Jongup-san, kouhii wo nomimasen ka?”_

Coffee….

If there was any word he was sure he knew in Japanese, it was _coffee,_ considering Himchan’s caffeine addiction.

She was inviting him to have some with her.

So, he nodded.

Mina’s smile grew wider, and without realizing it, excitedly went close to his side, clutching his hand as she lead the way to a coffee shop she passed on her way here.

Jongup was a little taken aback by Mina’s sudden closeness, but enjoyed the warmth it brought.

Mina thought she was going to be left all alone, but she was wrong. Though the two of them had difficulty communicating, she had made a friend no less. This meeting couldn’t have been coincidence.

Perhaps this mysterious blessing was a Christmas gift in itself. And she was thankful to have it.

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for my lovely diamond girl~ She is DiamondMoon at AFF but doesn't have an account here at AO3 (edit: now she does, so I have set it as a gift). Anyway, I had so much fun writing this! I felt having the language barrier would add to the fluff, and serves to show even with difficulty communicating, kindness is always understood <3
> 
> I'm admittedly a bit rusty in my Japanese, and I purposely used as simple (practically 101 level) in this story. If there are any mistakes (aside from ones done purposely), I am open to correcting them.


End file.
